Yarn and paint

Two 18”x24” canvases

2023

Every Seven Years is a pair of handwoven canvases embroidered with text and coated in layers of paint.
The viewer’s initial focus is drawn to the symbols, one a square and the other an eye, created by the crisp edges of the paint layers. The contrast between the burgundy and white paint gives the symbols a graphic quality reminiscent of road signs. The transparency of the white paint draws attention to the color variations in the woven canvas, bringing the viewer to next examine the materiality of the pieces.

Fuzzy yarns have been calcified by the paint, leaving the canvases with an itchy, uncomfortable texture. Embroidered text sits in relief above the canvas’ surface, allowing the viewers to read what had been partially obscured by the paint. The lyrical phrases offer clues to the coded pieces but leave the full meaning of them a mystery. Like artifacts of a past ritual, viewers are welcome to question and guess but not to participate.